The latest issue of The Wrestler magazine has a long multi-page interview with former WWE star, Ivory aka Lisa Moretti, talking about her entire career from GLOW through WWE, as well as her current doggy daycare business.
Some highlights below:
On her recent induction into the WSU Hall of Fame, Ivory says:
It’s really flattering, but it’s way more fun after I’m finally there. I get uptight about doing a wrestling engagement of any kind, even something as honorable as an induction, because I feel like I don’t belong there anymore. But I got so charged up by watching these great ladies matches, watching girls who really knew how to wrestle. It was fun to watch another generation coming up that really took pride in an all-girls card putting on their own show.
Speaking on her first year in WWE, Ivory says she was “getting [her] ass handed to [her] by Jackie Moore” and that that period was her “nine months of living hell.” She adds:
I’m sure she didn’t like me for some reason. I talked to Jazz at a Hall of Fame induction and said something to that effect, and Jazz said that Jackie was never rough with her. I think it’s because she respected Jazz. I’ve rapped my brain about it for a lot of years. I was thinking, ‘Why does this have to be so painful?’ It doesn’t make you look good, and it doesn’t help me make you look good. It’s not professional. Finally, I had to open my mouth about it. I’ve got cuts and burns all over my body to prove it. You don’t DDT someone night after night and not lighten up! You’re literally driving my head into the mat with a tight grip around my neck. She would never talk to me before or after. I’d tell her, “This is a big ol’ Heat match, let’s just have some fun.” Then we’d get out there, and, first punch, bam, she’d connect with my skull. Oh, great, here we go.
Talking about how the Divas were used in her day, Ivory says:
But we were the girls, and at least we got to wrestle and they gave us a shot. We had no storyline and I don’t think anybody knew who the good guy was and the bad guy was. I would look out the curtain and see Scotty 2 Hotty and Grandmaster Sexay master the crowd with all their antics and talent. How the hell were we little girls going to go out there and do anything compared to that? I’m still jealous of Trish Stratus because she was the perfect person to pull it all together. But we had to do it on our own in those early days. Fit Finlay wasn’t assigned to us and working with us every day, that’s for sure. But I survived that and it was really fun. I still need to write a letter to Vince and Linda McMahon, saying thank you.
Ivory touches on how she felt WWE disrespected Kurt Angle by mocking his gold medal. She then ties that into the treatment of the Women’s Championship at the time:
Imagine how we girls felt when our women’s belt — our Olympic gold medal — was given to a girl only because she looked good but had no ability? We know bad guys are supposed to cheat to win, and all that is part of the storyline and that’s fine, but it was disparaging when the wrong person wore our gold.
I’m talking about people who got the belt just because it was “their turn.” I was an example of the perfect middle card girl. I had the integrity to want to do a really good job and was stupid enough to think that if I did a really good they’d notice, and, in hindsight, I’m actually sure they noticed because they give you a lot of crap to do because you’re reliable and can get it done. When I was losing the title in an evening gown swimming pool match to Miss Kitty, I was all pissed off about it. [Gerald] Brisco comes to me and says, “Ivory, you’re not going to let me down, are you? I’m countin’ on you to make this work.”
Ivory’s interview can be found in The Wrestler Volume 41, 2011.
Thoughts: There’s a lot more touched in this great Q&A which spans about eight double pages. Very in depth and a fantastic read. Honestly, reading her thoughts on how the girls were treated back then and about the belt, I couldn’t help but find parallels to the way things work today. “We had no storyline and I don’t think anybody knew who the good guy was and the bad guy was,” could easily be about today’s Divas product. Ivory has a really insightful thought process into her time in the business.
From the sounds of the article, it seems like she’s moved on and looks back at her time with both good and bad memories. I don’t think she’s bitter, because she feels like she’s had her time and realises that and now doesn’t do many conventions etc. Still, I’d love to see Ivory do more in the wrestling business but it’s admirable that she has the dignity to walk away and not try to cling to the spotlight.
